The big question in regard to the Internet has long been
its potential to provide "new forms of social space that might empower individuals
in new ways" (Poster 1995). As it has developed, the Internet has enveloped
existing social spaces, extending and reworking previous social practices.
While computer-mediated communication does not cancel out the gendered relationships
of face-to-face communication, the specific conditions of online interaction
do introduce resistances and fractures in gender-power relations. The Internet
also subverts a hierarchical information flow, allowing diverse social groups
access to information and support that is not available from traditional news
and information sources. In addition, the new model of marketing on the Internet
is based on a mediated environment which provides relative anonymity, and
allows consumers a degree of control over the 'content' of the shopping experience.
The Internet also removes the gatekeepers from publishing, in that "it is
a technology that puts cultural acts, symbolizations in all forms, in the
hands of all participants" (Poster 1995). In short, in its various roles as
communication tool, superstore, meeting place, information source, and independent
publisher, the Internet provides "agency" (Hall 1998). The Internet can function
as one place where, or one tool through which, individuals are empowered to
act on their own behalf, challenging hegemonic discourses.

While, as Hall points out in discussing the development of digital communications
in Africa, digital technology can support and extend elite enclaves by providing
additional markers of access and possession, it can also provide entrée and
ownership to the powerless. It was not only in Africa that "time and space
were major barriers in the defence of privilege and position" (Hall 1998);
however, the Internet has collapsed time and space, enabling novel interactions
between individuals, communities, and ideas. The new communication links open
up the possibility of access to social power, and the new forms of interaction
bring with them new discourses of gender and identity, and new patterns of
power relations.

Irigaray writes that patriarchy is not a structure but an economy, in which
women are the primary commodities (1985: 193). This specular economy depends
on all commodities knowing their place. For example:

It would be out of the question for them to go to the 'market' alone, to profit
from their own value, to talk to each other, to desire each other, without
the control of the selling-buying-consuming subjects. (Irigaray 1985: 196)

Women know their place through discourses. In Foucault's terms, discourses
create particular subject positions from which to make sense of the world,
and at the same time discipline or regulate those subject positions (Foucault
1991). Hegemonic discourses of gender and sexuality are accepted as 'common
sense' even though they might not fit individuals' experiences or beliefs.
The discourses on gender and sexuality that have been disseminated through
science and medicine, the church and the school, the family and the media,
have constructed a moral code that imposes rules and prohibitions which are
enacted by subjects with varying degrees of compliance. These moral discourses
combine to constrain women's sexuality, and limit their participation in sex
entertainment. One of the most common examples of such discourses is the notion
that while men are interested in sex, women are interested in romance, an
idea that increases the prohibitions associated with the consumption of sex
entertainment by women. Another example is the belief that the representation
of sexuality in itself degrades women, an assumption based on the notion that
exploitation resides in the representation of female sexuality per se,
rather than the conditions of its production and consumption and the ways
in which sexual meanings are created. This works to deny women the right to
construct and represent their own sexuality. Another example is the way that:

in our society, women are constantly pressured to limit their sexual activity
to married monogamy, and part of the pressure involves constructing all other
forms of sex as per se dangerous. (Valverde 1989: 237)

Yet another example is a belief in the 'moral superiority' of women, accompanied
by moves to protect them from that which might distress or offend. This protection
was historically contingent on the separation of public and private spheres,
and women's role as moral entrepreneurs meant their confinement to the private
sphere of the family. Dominant discourses also construct sexuality along binaries
of active/passive, dominant/subordinate, subject/object, regulating it through
gendered norms of behaviour which support a power-based system of sexual relationships.

Not all women, however, construct themselves as subjects along the lines
of dominant social discourses. For many women, sexuality is an integral part
of their identity and the Internet has offered a forum where this aspect of
their lives can be more fully explored, opening up new possibilities for sex
entertainment (Kibby & Costello 1999; Kibby & Costello 2001). One
example is the way that many women's personal home pages display a sexualised
persona (Kibby 1997) instead of, or alongside, other aspects of the woman's
identity.

Gender and the Internet

Early research into online communication forums primarily involved the text-based
virtual reality environments called Multi-User Domains or MUDs, which were
originally game environments based on Dungeons and Dragons but grew
to encompass a wide range of fantasy worlds. Role playing was the focus of
the majority of these environments, with players going to great imaginative
lengths to create their characters. Bruckman (1993) declared that "MUDs are
an identity workshop" after studying the way that MUDders invented new genders
and other identity markers as part of their role playing. Turkle (1995), also
studying MUDs, described online gender swapping with enthusiasm, suggesting
that experiencing the opposite gender encourages reflection on the nature
of gender and its influence on our interactions. Most of the subsequent studies
of gender swapping online have also focussed on the construction of identity
in fantasy environments such as MUDs, or on the assumption that disguises
are widely employed in closed forums such as women-only or gay spaces, but
there is little evidence to suggest that it is a common practice in general
Internet usage (cf. Kibby 1998).

The notion of widespread gender swapping on the Internet has been described
as "dated" (Hamilton 2000) in that it depends on a reduction of gender to
a costume that can be put on or discarded, a livery without implications for
language use, conversational style, interactional methods and so on; and it
relies on people believing in your online identity and being concerned about
the authenticity of that identity. As Hamilton says, "Turkle's gender-swapping
only works if you can 'fool' people with the quality of your performance.
What happens when everyone assumes you are performing and doesn't care anymore?"

In practice, gender boundaries have become more, rather than less, concrete
online. Gender is the first and major identifier in electronic communication,
and "Are you male or female?" is the question most frequently asked in text-based
forums (O'Brien 1999). O'Brien explains how individuals who are evasive in
answering are not considered to be creatively exploring their gender options,
but to be hiding something: "the failure to 'reveal' gender is viewed with
suspicion" (1999: 79).

While the incidence of gender switching online is perhaps unknowable, significant
gender policing is apparent, especially in sex entertainment forums. The policing
occurs at a number of levels. Participants in romance and sex chat forums
maintain a constant gender vigilance, asking specific questions of potential
partners in order to uncover any gender fraud, and barring anyone who prevaricates
from further interaction. System Operators on most sex entertainment forums
require verifiable names and addresses, and participants are required to specify
biographical details including gender and sexual orientation. Incidents where
Sys Ops authenticate these details by way of phone calls and credit card checks
are discussed in the forums, and one study of Bulletin Board Systems reports
voice verification of participant biographies (Wiley 1995: 148). Policing
is also inherent in the connections between the online interaction and real-life
relationships. Whereas MUDs offer a fantasy space distinct from everyday life,
many participants in online heterosexual sex entertainment are looking for
sex and romance that is a complement to their real lives. For many people,
the process works as follows: "once having met online, they soon exchange
phone numbers and call each other, often exchange photos, followed by what
we have termed a fleshmeet" (Albright & Conran 1998: 11). This progression
to real-world contact works to limit online gender switching.

Online sex entertainment

The Internet provides a wide range of pornographic or erotic material. The
majority of this is similar to traditional pornography, only published electronically;
indeed, much of it is sourced from existing print and video pornography. The
consumer pays for access to images, texts, conversations or movies, and most
of these commercial pornography sites are male-oriented, even, or especially,
those that are captioned "Lesbian Lovers", "Female Fantasies" and the like.
However, there are growing numbers of sex entertainment sites specifically
for women (Kibby 1999), while increasingly, 'Women's Issues' sites are including
erotica alongside health, fashion and entertainment as just another area of
interest to women. Another rapidly growing area is the provision of online
shopping for erotic toys, and a significant number of these sites expressly
target women, or have designated women's sections selling erotic paraphernalia
that social inhibitions might prevent women from purchasing in their local
adult stores, were it available. Women are developing their own collections
of heterosexual male imagery, and most of these are personal home pages rather
than commercial sites and contain amateur collections of pictures from a range
of sources. One of the largest categories of Web sites providing erotica for
women consists of those posting erotic fiction, allowing women to publish
their own uncensored sex entertainment stories. Another area where women's
presence is particularly noticeable is in the public, interactive forums where
participants share erotic images, discussion or video with each other. Through
'hot chat' sites, women participate in what is essentially online phone sex,
typing out erotic conversations or constructing elaborate mutual sexual experiences.
CU-SeeMe is chat with the addition of a video camera, so that participants
can type messages to each other while transmitting an image. Different participants
use the various forms of online sex entertainment in different ways; overall,
however, the level and variety of women's involvement suggests that the Net
does provide a measure of freedom for women to experience and express their
sexuality on their own terms, creating their own discourses of sexuality that
challenge gendered relations of power.

Online sex-talk forums

Online communication forums are important sources of sex entertainment on the
Internet. Baym writes of the egalitarianism that many see in computer-mediated
communication, suggesting that online forums allow women and minorities a voice
that might be silenced in face-to-face situations (1995: 140). Certainly, face-to-face
erotic or romantic conversation with strangers is proscribed for many women
for a range of personal and social reasons. In providing this freedom to easily
and comfortably do what women have forbidden themselves 'in real life', the
Internet becomes a frontier world of exciting possibilities. It offers a virtual
reality of freedom from constraint, in which participants feel at liberty to
act out their fantasies, to challenge social norms, and to exercise aspects
of their personality that would under normal circumstances be inhibited (Reid
1991). This is not to say that computers have democratised communication. As
a study of academic mailing lists revealed, "male participants [...] effectively
dominate discussions" in what amounts to "a type of censorship" (Herring 1993).
Herring concluded that in forums where males and females interact, women are
not automatically accorded the same rights to express attitudes and desires,
to introduce topics, or to participate equally in exchanges. The fact that women's
numbers are more limited on adult chat sites, however, does lead to a degree
of competition for their attention which accords them a certain power in directing
exchanges.

In the adult chat forum, Smut Shack, women openly represent themselves
as sexual beings. This representation is firstly through the handles they
choose, with frequent use of descriptive nicknames such as "horny bored
wife", "Crimson Mistress", "Extra Wet" and "Teenage Lisa".
Secondly, it occurs through descriptions of their physical selves, for example:

Sweet Sexy Voice said to ct guy: I am 34 single am Mexican American
dark eyes and black hair and 42dd (o)(o)

In computer-mediated interactive sex entertainment, it is the simultaneous
co-existence of intimacy and anonymity that suggests a reduced accountability
for actions, and a liberation from social discourses of appropriate gender
behaviour. The personal nature of the exchanges facilitates an 'among friends'
ambience which, combined with the perceived anonymity, makes it doubly easy
to ignore inhibitions. Interaction is via typed conversation and physical
markers that are usually read as cues to age, personality type and social
experience are not automatically present, so that participants have a certain
freedom to construct the identity they depict. Even with CU-SeeMe, where participants
can transmit an image of themselves while they type, they are careful to 'manage'
their identities. The seclusion of the keyboard context and the distancing
effect of the computer interface combine with the intimacy of the exchanges
to create a similar releasing effect to that of masks and costumes at carnival
time (see Danet et al 1997). Participants are freed to not only be other than
themselves, but to express more of themselves than they usually can in a face-to-face
environment. Safe behind the mask of computer mediation, women are empowered
to express a sexuality perhaps rarely revealed elsewhere. The nicknames used
are the equivalent of masks, sometimes disguising identity, sometimes highlighting
a personal characteristic. Also, women's video images in CU-SeeMe are generally
carefully constructed, as they dress up in costumes or erotic garments, light
and choreograph their displays and choose, design, and arrange their backgrounds
- thus framing their images to disguise and reveal simultaneously:

<Cyn2>: ... did you see my pierced nipples?

For many women this environment is one in which they can both produce and
consume pornographic images: the anonymity provides security, the personal
disclosure an element of danger. Some men have expressed surprise at the way
their partners have become involved in CU-SeeMe:

<Traveller & Blues>: I was in Trinidad 5 weeks came back wife had
turned into CU pervert.

People tend to feel "personally and technically secure" in computer-mediated
communication and see a low risk in engaging in sexually explicit communication
online (Witmer 1997). However, the security of anonymity is counterbalanced
by the risks of not knowing to whom you are speaking, as image management
online can involve deceptions over basic characteristics such as age, appearance
and occupation. As suggested above, although gender swapping is an important
element of the fantasy role playing in MUDs and similar text-based forums,
there is little evidence that it is usual in other areas of the Internet,
with a review of the literature on gender differences in computer-mediated
communication finding that claims of widespread gender anonymity have not
been supported by the research (Herring 2000). Clearly, where adult forums
emphasise moving on to real-life interaction, gender swapping would be counterproductive.
In CU-SeeMe particularly, there is a focus on the real, with participants
discussing their everyday lives, and with strict rules preventing the transmission
of still or video images, and occasional requests that suspected transgressors
pan to reveal their faces (Kibby & Costello 2001: 363). The one area where
women seem to have to frequently deal with males' cross-gender posing is in
women-only forums, and here assessments are quickly made on the basis of language
use, style, and the answers to gendered questions such as "What sizes do pantyhose
come in?" In one case, a man lurking on the WebWomen list was unmasked
by his strong assertions and rhetorical questions (King 2000).

Night has been described as a frontier, in that it offers a sparse, homogeneous
population facilitating interpersonal linkages; a wider range of tolerated
behaviour; and greater opportunities for concealment or escape (Melbin 1987).
Parallels can be drawn between the 'frontier' of Internet communication and
the night. Participation in adult conferences is, in effect, taking back the
night: experiencing the danger and excitement, the forbidden expressions of
sexuality, the risky liaisons. A Juliet Breeze cartoon shows a middle-aged
woman at the computer in the early hours of the morning: her sweatshirt is
emblazoned with the feminist slogan "Take back the night!" and she is exploring
the dark alleys of the Internet (Pollock & Sutton 1999: 40). This is not
to say that these sexually-oriented chat sites are a utopia for women. Far
from it. Some women will find themselves harassed, intimidated, abused or
patronised. But some women will find for themselves a community where they
can engage in a playful discourse that suggests what could be.

Online sex entertainment products

The new model of marketing on the Web is a mediated environment created by
participants. It is a fundamentally different way of shopping in that it offers
a potential to diffuse the individual's identity and to increase the power
of the consumer (Hoffman & Novak 1996). The anonymity hinders personalised
selling, and in so doing allows consumers to distance themselves from the
sellers, and the products. In shopping for personal products the Internet
offers the safety of social distance, and protection from possible censure
or embarrassment. This is a similar 'liberation' to that offered to isolated
women by mail order shopping, whether their isolation is the effect of emotional,
social or geographic factors. What the Internet provides is greater ease of
access to a diversity of product ranges. The power shift in favour of consumers
may be one explanation for the rapid development of female-oriented 'sex shops'
on the Internet. The Eve's Garden front page says:

Too embarrassed to shop in your local sex shop? Offended by the sexist images?
Then here's a refreshing change! The Eve's Garden catalogue of sexual accessories,
toys, books and videos is a new and enlightened look at sexuality that celebrates
the joy of sex in a sex-positive and non-sexist manner. Eve's Garden was created
by women specifically for women.

A Woman's Touch is operated by two women, a doctor and a social worker,
and includes a question-and-answer forum as well as clothing, books, videos
and toys for sale. Good Vibrations offers an online museum of antique
vibrators in addition to products for sale. First Fantasies proffers
"fantascripts": romantic role playing guides with theme lingerie and lounge
wear for him and her, props and accessories, and "suggestions for mood setting
décor". Romantic Inspirations sells products designed to "inspire"
an erotic love life, and Pleasure Chest's Women's Wonderland features
toys for women - including the nipple super sucker and the Mr Peter ice mould.
The perception of anonymous shopping may be countered by the increasing use
of data tracking to develop a profile of a shopper's interests, attitudes
and behaviours. Most people, however, are currently unaware of the extent
to which their Web surfing leaves behind a trail of cookies that provide a
comprehensive picture of themselves (Clarke 2001) - and so the perception
of anonymity largely persists.

Online erotic publishing

Self-publishing on the Web has allowed a diversity in the content and style
of sex entertainment products that was not previously accommodated in mass-market
publishing. In the introduction to her Sexuality site, Janis Cortese
complains of the "constrained, narrow images that haunt the American sexual
landscape", images of "drilling studs and bouncing bimbos", and asks: "where
is the sex entertainment that assumes its viewers or readers to be female?"
The site includes erotic fan fiction. In the tradition of slash fiction, such
as women's homoerotic rewriting of Star Trek, women have written new
narratives - based on the X-Files, Babylon 5, Miami Vice,
Highlander and other series - that feature explicit sexual interaction.
As Cortese says, it's not all "politically correct" soft-core erotica: "You'll
find twosomes, threesomes, same-sex stuff, bondage games, rough stuff ...
strong and gorgeous women ... gracile and beautiful men ...". Aurora Universe
is a collection of erotic superheroine adventures, a rapidly growing women's
genre. Madeline's Sex Offerings features well-written narratives and
includes Madeline's own stories as well as submissions from other writers.
Vanna Vechian's Erotic Fiction explores domination, exhibitionism and
sensuality in exotic locations. Fantasy Forum is a site where women
submit their own "fantasies, erotic fiction, personal experiences etc. from
a woman's point of view", and visitors vote for their favourite story. One
story voted 'most popular' was "Center of Attention" in which a woman and
her husband meet a business acquaintance of his; over dinner she suggests
a threesome and the men acquiesce, both focussing on pleasuring her. Ms Heathen
explains on her website of the same name that:

With my erotica I try to show graphic, explicit, no pansy-footing [sic] around
(and I did say graphic), portrayals of women in control. I try to be frank
and open, showing the characters with choices in an egalitarian encounter.

Though there is a growing market in women's erotic print fiction which is
often similar in plot and narrative style to the Web-published stories, online
publication allows for a significant diversity in that the gatekeepers of
print publishing are absent, and it facilitates connections with communities
of shared interest. Interaction between writers and readers, and the facility
for readers to try their hand at writing erotic fiction for a supportive audience,
dismantles some of the reader/writer/publisher hierarchies of the mainstream
print media.

Another form of female-oriented self-published sex entertainment consists
of image collections put together by women. As stated earlier, these are generally
on personal, not commercial, sites. Examples such as Jane's Gallery
and Janis Cortese's Collection include nude photos of partners and
friends as well as celebrity pin-ups of the likes of Brad Pitt and Trent Reznor
(of the Nine Inch Nails) - though many of the celebrity nudes bear captions
like "Fun with Photoshop". Again, many of these sites have interactive elements,
allowing visitors to vote, submit their own images, or discuss the appeal
of the pin-ups. This interactivity supports a feeling of commonality, encouraging
women to feel that they are not alone in seeking sex entertainment:

Even when on-line groups are not designed to be supportive, they tend to be.
As social beings, those who use the Net seek not only information but also
companionship, social support and a sense of belonging. (Wellman & Gulia
1996)

Women are finding that support in the alternate discourses surrounding female-oriented
sex entertainment on the Internet.

Online sex and sexuality information

Information in itself is empowering, and many women are finding that the
Internet is a source of otherwise difficult to obtain knowledge on a wide
range of topics relating to sex and sexuality. Information is easily, and
privately, accessible from sites like Sex Laws, which is an extensive
compilation of Australian, Canadian and US laws pertaining to various aspects
of sexuality, as well as relevant laws in Islam; Web by Women for Women,
which was a response to threats to women's ability to discuss personal issues
- including matters concerning health or sexuality - from the US Communications
Decency Act; and Gender-Related Electronic Forums, which is a directory
of women-related email lists, including those focussed on sexuality or sexual
orientation.

Conclusions

The Internet is not a new world. It has been constructed around existing
social discourses and reflects the relations of gendered power that exist
in the off-line world. However, the structural conditions of the Internet
do allow for challenges to these discourses, and provide the possibility of
translating power structures into new assemblages. While the Internet does
not completely eradicate old power systems as it builds new ones, it reproduces
them incompletely, and in online, female-oriented sex entertainment, the resulting
fissures provide a space where women can write their own sexuality outside
patriarchal narratives of gender and sex.

There is some evidence that new attitudes and behaviours developed in and
facilitated by online environments can be transferred to face-to-face situations.
For example, students who acquire discussion skills within the security and
anonymity of online forums can consequently become more confident and outspoken
in face-to-face tutorials (Monroe 1999). It may be that people who become
used to women defining their own sexuality and actively participating in sex
entertainment online, will work to create social spaces that facilitate women's
sexual empowerment - at least in their own corner of Real Life.

Marjorie
Kibby is a senior lecturer in cultural studies at the University of
Newcastle, Australia. Her research and teaching interests include both contemporary
gender politics and the developing cultures of the Internet, and particularly
the intersections of the two. Her publications include articles on Internet
communities, and aspects of gender and the Web. Some recent publications are:
"Sex Entertainment for Women on the Web" in Sexuality and Culture,
vol.3, 1999; "Tourists on the Mother Road and the Information Superhighway"
in Expressions of Culture, Identity and Meaning in Tourism (eds M. Robinson
et al; University of Northumbria, Newcastle, 2000); "The Didj Scene: Mapping
the Articulations of Local and Global in the Construction of a Music Community"
in Changing Sounds: New Directions and Configurations in Popular Music
(eds T. Mitchell & P. Doyle; University of Technology, Sydney, 2000); "Home
on the Page: A Virtual Place of Music Community" in Popular Music,
vol.19, no.1, 2000; and, co-authored with B. Costello, "Between the Image
and the Act: Interactive Sex Entertainment on the Internet" in Sexualities:
Studies in Culture and Society, vol.4, no.3, 2001. More information can
be found on Marjorie's homepage at: http://www.newcastle.edu.au/department/so/homepage.htm.